Sure, he’d saved her from Vivian, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t become just like Vivian or Russell as soon as he found out the truth about what she could do.
***
Garrett fell asleep watching the silhouette of his guest on the dock as she cast long shadows on the lake under the moonlight. His first instinct had been to go out there and keep her company, but after giving it a moment’s thought, he knew she would just retreat back into the guest house as soon as he stepped foot near her. So he’d kept his distance, got ready for bed, and turned out the lights, leaving the blinds on his French door open just enough to be able to keep an eye on her.
The day had been long and hot, but a lot of fun. He loved having his friends over, and Hallie’s idea of making s’mores was one of the best ones yet. Sitting around the open fire, roasting marshmallows, and just talking and relaxing with everyone, was definitely a night he’d remember.
All evening though, while the women talked about the shows they were binging, complained about their work schedules, or teased the guys, Garrett’s thoughts kept drifting to the woman in his guest house. Reese would like Orly, Hallie, and Skyla. He was sure of that. And the guys would like her, too. Though he wasn’t sure how much she would like them. They could be loud and boasted a dry sense of humor that not everyone understood, but they were harmless when it came to their friends, and their women, of course.
The next morning, Garrett woke just as the sun was starting to turn the sky a lighter shade of gray, right when the firstbirds were waking up. He wasn’t one of those people who hated mornings or Mondays. In fact, he loved getting up early, having that extra head start to the day. And going to work was never a chore. It was a calling he’d fought hard to achieve, and now that he was a Texas Ranger, he never took it for granted.
Garrett was particularly excited about today. He was meeting with the FBI liaison on a joint task force his boss asked him to work on regarding the very same drug that Russell Graham was connected to. He’d already been helping out with the case on his own time, so he was only too happy to be part of the investigation formally.
Garrett pulled into the parking lot of the Texas Rangers Headquarters building and parked his gray F-150 truck in his usual spot. On his way inside, he spotted Caden approaching the door. “Hey stranger,” Garrett called to his friend.
Caden turned and smiled. “Good morning.”
“What brings you by today?” Garrett asked.
Caden ran a hand through his hair, not bothering to hide his grin. “Well, it just so happens I’ve been tasked to work with a Texas Ranger on one of my cases.”
Garrett took a step back. “Wait a minute. You’re not -” Caden nodded before Garrett even had a chance to finish his question. “You’re the FBI liaison,” Garrett said accusingly, but with no heat.
“Guilty. Now I just have to find out which one of you Rangers I have to whip into shape to nail this damn drug case already and put Russell Graham away for good.”
Garrett playfully punched him in the arm. “You’re looking at him.”
Caden’s face split into a full on grin. “No shit.”
“Dig deeper, Man. You’re stuck with me.”
“Good. I was hoping it would be you. I actually asked for you, but was told to mind my own business. I guess some peopleare still under the impression that different law enforcement agencies have to be at odds with each other instead of working together.”
“Yeah, that was probably Baker. He has a chip on his shoulder. Most of the time it works in his favor, but sometimes it can blow up in his face.”
“And Baker is…” Caden said, without really asking, as they walked up the steps of the Texas Rangers building.
“Used to be one of us, but was recently promoted,” Garrett wasn’t sure how much he was allowed to reveal about the internal workings of the Texas Rangers, so when Caden didn’t ask for more details, Garrett let it drop. “So, how do you want to do this?”
Garrett walked past the front desk with Caden following close behind. He offered the receptionist and a few of the Rangers he passed a chin lift on his way to his desk. He liked to keep his work space fairly simple. The few things he did keep on his desk were mostly gifts given to him by people he’d either helped or worked with. He had a mouse pad with the picture of a cute kitten on it from a little girl he’d helped transition into witness protection with her parents after her mother witnessed a high profile murder, a pencil box from one of his colleagues who’d given it to him as a gag gift after Garrett complained about having to use computers and technology in a job that used to be all pen and paper, and his all-time favorite gift was from two Christmases ago when he’d gotten a foot massager in a white elephant gift exchange from Holly Reynolds, the previous receptionist. She’d worked with the Texas Rangers for over a decade until she got married and fell pregnant with twins. Last Garrett heard, she and her family were doing well. Her husband was an affluent businessman in the area, and Holly was expecting their third child.
“You haven’t heard a word I said,” Caden smirked, his eyebrows raised in mock annoyance.
“Sorry.” Garrett pushed his chair further under his desk to shove the bright blue foot massager out of Caden’s view. It was bad enough the guys around here teased him about it. If Caden saw it, he’d never hear the end of it. “Let’s go to the conference room where we’ll have more room to spread out and talk.”
“Lead the way,” Caden said. “Oh, and how do you like that foot massager? I was thinking of getting one for myself.”
Garrett sneered in his friend's direction, and the other man barely contained a laugh.
The large conference room off the stairwell was the perfect place for meetings and presentations. It had a long table with ten chairs, and a large window overlooking a park across the street. Garrett closed the door and watched as Caden laid out the files, opening and studying several of them. There were maps with color coded sections, graphs of demographics, charts of various levels of the drug across the regions that it had been found in, and photos of all the dealers who’ve been arrested with it in the last year. It was a lot of information to process, but most of it Garrett was already familiar with. His only question was how he could help the FBI nail whoever was making it so they could finally get it off the streets and arrest Russell Graham.
A knock at the door interrupted them before they had much of a chance to get started. Garrett opened the door to find Luke standing there in full uniform. “Can I come in?” Luke asked.
“No,” Caden said with no heat. “Sorry, I know what this means to you, but it’s an FBI case and the only reason Garrett is in here is because I was assigned to work with him directly. We have no idea who we can and can’t trust so -”
“You don’t think you can trust me?” Luke asked, clearly hurt by his friend’s words.
“Hey, I want in on the FBI case too,” Harvey Black, another Texas Ranger said, pushing his way in the door.
